Bentleyville Tour of Lights

Last updated
Christmas tree at the 2017 light display Bentleyville, Duluth 11 29 17 -bentleyville -christmas -lightshow (38730514562).jpg
Christmas tree at the 2017 light display

Bentleyville "Tour of Lights" is one of America's largest free walk-through lighting displays. [1] [2] [3] It is located in Duluth, Minnesota and runs annually from November 21 to December 27. The 2020 season of the attraction introduced a new drive-through layout, to better fit and help with restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and returned to its traditional walk-through format for the year 2021.

Contents

Description

Bentleyville is a free light display in Duluth, Minnesota. It is a non-profit organization open every day from November 18,2023 through December 26, 2023, from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm Sunday-Thursday, and 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Admission is FREE and the cost to park is $10 per vehicle.

The event is a walk-through display where visitors can walk through different light tunnels and other illuminated paths to view the large scenes of lights depicting various holiday figures and local attractions around the Duluth area. Complimentary hot cocoa, cookies, popcorn, and marshmallows are available to all guests, 15 different fire pits are available for guests to warm up by halfway through the display, and visitors can visit Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus in their meet-and-greet location. Kids 10 and under received a new knit hat and a bag of cookies when they visit Santa.

Bentleyville is also the official drop off site for new unwrapped toys and nonperishable food items for the Salvation Army. Food and toys donated at Bentleyville are distributed to 7 communities: Duluth, Cloquet, Virginia, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, International Falls, MN and Superior, WI.

History

Nathan Bentley first decorated his home with lights in Esko, Minnesota in 2001. He added more and more lights for the next two years to make his display bigger every year, eventually Bentley's house was known as "the house with all of the lights in Esko." By 2003, Bentley transformed his house from a drive by to a walk through, with Santa visiting on the weekends. One of Bentley's friends eventually started referring to his house as Bentleyville (a play on words from Dr. Seuss's "Whoville"). Bentleyville "Tour of lights" was born. In 2004, the Bentleys moved from Esko to Cloquet, Minnesota. To get people and the usual visitors to come out to see it, Bentley built a larger and brighter display. He built a 78' x 24' entrance made with 45,000 lights to greet people. There were over 500 lit-up snowflakes hung from trees all over his property; dozens of displays were created and many were added every year. School groups and community musicians were added to add live entertainment. Fire pits were put in for visitors to gather around, warm up and roast marshmallows. Santa starting showing up every night as a permanent guest. Kids who came to visit Santa got a free winter hat and a bag of cookies. Eventually a building was constructed, where inside, free cookies, coffee and apple cider were offered. This became known as "The Cookie House". The "Popcorn House" was added soon after for visitors to enjoy free popcorn while walking through the lights.

Move to Duluth

The popularity of Bentleyville grew and so did the traffic. The Bentleys lived on a dead-end country road so there wasn't much room to park. After two years and 35,000 visitors, Bentley decided he needed to build parking lots in fields nearby with buses bringing the visitors to the entrance. In 2008, with 5 years of hosting Bentleyville at his houses, Bentley took a year off to think about how everything was working and to make it better. In the fall, the Duluth City Mayor, Don Ness, called Bentley asking if he would bring Bentleyville to Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth, for a year trial. Ness thought Bayfront Park was a perfect fit for Bentleyville. Bentley asked his original team members to organize the Christmas light show. He needed 600 volunteers and 10 weeks to help set up.

On Friday, November 27, 2009 Bentleyville turned on its millions of lights for thousands of visitors for the first time in Bayfront Park. There was over 150,000 visitors that came to enjoy the sounds and lights of winter.

Expansion

On January 8, 2010 Bentleyville announced that it had decided to return to Bayfront Park for the next three years. Those three years helped with a lot of expansion in Bentleyville with adding the famous 128 foot lit up, animated tree as the main piece, right in the center of Bentleyville. Every year more and more displays were added, in 2011 Dino Land, a gift shop, more light tunnels, heaters in the line for Santa Claus, and a new home for Mrs. Claus was added. In 2012, Santa skydived into Bentleyville on opening night, visitors welcomed Thomas the Tank Engine in the displays, and the attendance made it to over 206,000 people.

Pandemic modifications

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Bentleyville announced that it would be offering a drive-thru display as a replacement for its traditional walk-through display. The plans for a drive-thru display were announced on September 9, 2020 during a press conference held by Nathan Bentley. The drive-thru display would use the same lighted scenes and displays as previous years but would have visitors drive through the display in their vehicles instead of walking through it on foot. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duluth, Minnesota</span> City in Minnesota, United States

Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. Commodities shipped from the Port of Duluth include coal, iron ore, grain, limestone, cement, salt, wood pulp, steel coil, and wind turbine components. Duluth is south of the Iron Range and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta Botanical Garden</span>

The Atlanta Botanical Garden is a 30 acres (12 ha) botanical garden located adjacent to Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Incorporated in 1976, the garden's mission is to "develop and maintain plant collections for the purposes of display, education, conservation, research and enjoyment."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autostadt</span> Museum

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Split Rock Lighthouse State Park</span> State park in Minnesota, United States

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park is a state park of Minnesota on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It is best known for the picturesque Split Rock Lighthouse, one of the most photographed lighthouses in the United States. Built by the United States Lighthouse Service in 1910, the lighthouse and some adjacent buildings have been restored and the Minnesota Historical Society operates them as a museum. The 2,200-acre (890 ha) state park offers a unique cart-in campground and scenic trails for hiking, cross-country skiing, and bicycling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oglebay Park</span> Historic house in West Virginia, United States

Oglebay Park is a self-supporting public municipal park, the only one of its kind, located on the outskirts of Wheeling, West Virginia, on 1,650 acres (670 ha). In 1926, Earl W. Oglebay deeded his estate, Waddington Farms, to the city of Wheeling for the express purpose of public recreation. The park has been open to the public since 1928 when its governing body, the Wheeling Park Commission, began operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate Park</span> United States historic place

Interstate Park comprises two adjacent state parks on the Minnesota–Wisconsin border, both named Interstate State Park. They straddle the Dalles of the St. Croix River, a deep basalt gorge with glacial potholes and other rock formations. The Wisconsin park is 1,330 acres (538 ha) and the Minnesota park is 298 acres (121 ha). The towns of Taylors Falls, Minnesota and St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin are adjacent to the park. Interstate Park is within the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway and the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve. The western terminus of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail is on the Wisconsin side. On the Minnesota side, two areas contain National Park Service rustic style buildings and structures that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canal Park, Duluth</span>

Canal Park is a tourist and recreation-oriented district of Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Situated across the Interstate 35 freeway from Downtown Duluth, it is connected by the Aerial Lift Bridge across the Duluth Ship Canal to the Park Point sandbar and neighborhood. Canal Park Drive and Lake Avenue South serve as the main routes in Canal Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota Landscape Arboretum</span>

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is a 1,200-acre (4.9 km2) horticultural garden and arboretum located about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Chanhassen, Minnesota at 3675 Arboretum Drive, Chaska, Minnesota. It is part of the Department of Horticultural Science in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota, and open to the public every day of the year except Thanksgiving and Christmas. An admission fee is charged, and annual memberships are available. It is the Upper Midwest's largest public garden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Cooke State Park</span> State park of Minnesota, United States

Jay Cooke State Park is a state park of Minnesota, United States, protecting the lower reaches of the Saint Louis River. The park is located about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Duluth and is one of the ten most visited state parks in Minnesota. The western half of the park contains part of a rocky, 13-mile (21 km) gorge. This was a major barrier to Native Americans and early Europeans traveling by canoe, which they bypassed with the challenging Grand Portage of the St. Louis River. The river was a vital link connecting the Mississippi waterways to the west with the Great Lakes to the east.

Tanglewood Park is a recreation center and park in Clemmons, Forsyth County, North Carolina, USA. It is located on the Yadkin River between Clemmons and Bermuda Run. It is home to the annual "Tanglewood Festival of Lights," a display of lights in the wintertime celebrating the holidays. Additional attractions include the Tanglewood Park Arboretum and Rose Garden, a public pool, a dog park, horse stables, and Mallard Lake for fishing and paddleboat renting. Tanglewood has two golf courses, the Championship Course and the Reynolds Course. The former hosted the PGA Championship in 1974, won by Lee Trevino, with Jack Nicklaus one stroke back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloquet fire</span> Forest fire in Minnesota, United States

The Cloquet Fire was an immense forest fire in northern Minnesota, United States in October 1918, caused by sparks on the local railroads amid dry conditions. The fire left much of western Carlton County devastated, mostly affecting Moose Lake, Cloquet, and Kettle River. Cloquet was hardest hit by the fires; it was the worst natural disaster in Minnesota history in terms of the number of casualties in a single day. It is also the third-deadliest wildfire in recorded history, behind the Peshtigo fire of 1871 and a 1936 wildfire that occurred in Kursha-2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Claus Village</span> Amusement park in Rovaniemi, Finland

Santa Claus Village is an amusement park in Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of Finland. It was opened in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights</span> Display of Christmas lights and decorations

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights was a display of Christmas lights and decorations at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. Initially constructed by an Arkansas businessman as a gift for his six-year-old daughter, the display became one of the most popular attractions during the park's holiday season. It debuted in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safari World</span> Tourist attraction in Bangkok

Safari World is a tourist attraction in Bangkok, Thailand that consists of two parks named Marine Park and Safari Park, operated by Safari World Public Limited. The park was opened in 1988 with a total area of 480 acres (190 ha) for its open zoo and 180 acres (73 ha) for its bird park. A major renovation to enhance effectiveness of land use began on 17 April 1989 and its total area developed for the leisure park now consists of an open zoo and a marine park on 500 rai of land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light Up Night</span> Festival in Pittsburgh

Light Up Night is a family festival in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania coinciding with the unofficial start of the Winter holiday shopping season. Many retailers in Downtown Pittsburgh remain open late, and street vendors and other concessionaires sell food and give away hot beverages, treats and promotional items. The city is decorated with Christmas lights, trees, among other holiday decorations. On Light Up Night, the skyscrapers and buildings in and around downtown keep their lights on throughout the night, lending to the name. Over 200,000 people attend the festivities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest History Center</span>

The Forest History Center is part of the Minnesota Historical Society's network of historic sites and museums. Located in Grand Rapids, Itasca County, Minnesota, on wooded acreage adjoining the Mississippi River, the Forest History Center provides learning experiences about the forests, logging industry, and forest conservation. The historical and changing relationship between the people and the forest is displayed through exhibits and films, demonstrations, a living history lumber camp, an original 1934 fire tower, and nature trails. The Forest History Center has regular special events, and offers various programs for school field trips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duluth South Breakwater Inner Light</span> Lighthouse

The Duluth South Breakwater Inner Light is a lighthouse on the south breakwater of the Duluth Ship Canal in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It forms a range with the Duluth South Breakwater Outer Light to guide ships into the canal from Lake Superior. The current structure was built from 1900 to 1901.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christmas in the Park (San Jose)</span> Annual holiday event in San Jose, California

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christmas in Australia</span> Overview of the role of Christmas in USA

Christmas traditions in Australia, like Christmas in New Zealand, have many similarities to British, Irish, American and Canadian traditions, including traditional Christmas symbols featuring winter iconography. This means a red fur-coated Father Christmas or Santa Claus riding a sleigh, songs such as "Jingle Bells", and various Christmas scenes on Christmas cards and decorations. However, the timing of Christmas occurring during the Southern Hemisphere's summer season has resulted in the development of some local traditions as a result of the warmer weather.

References

  1. Jack Nissen (2018-11-14). "Duluth traditions return: Bentleyville Tour of Lights and the Christmas City of the North Parade". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  2. Bill Poteat (2018-12-04). "McAdenville trailing in national lights contest". Gaston Gazette. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  3. "Bentleyville "Tour of Lights"". Bentleyville USA. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  4. "Visitor Guide – Bentleyville "Tour of Lights"" . Retrieved 2020-11-10.